Success for 'what’s-its-name' … Ahmad Saadawi accepting the IPAFIraqi novelist Ahmed Saadawi has won the Arab world's most prestigious prize, the International prize for Arabic fiction, beating five other writers from around the Arab world.

But when judging chair Saad Albazei finally read off Saadawi's name, a cheer went up, followed by echoing zaghrutas of joy from Iraqis on Facebook and Twitter and, according to prize administrator Fleur Montanaro, some dancing on the streets in Baghdad. A few Iraqi politicians, she said, have already contacted the novelist, interested in attaching themselves to his credibility and fame.

Although the IPAF is not the biggest-money prize in the region, it captures attention in a way other pan-Arab prizes don't. Part of the prize's appeal is its association with the Man Booker – despite chiding from organisers, most continue to refer to the IPAF as the "Arabic Booker". It is also popular for publishing a longlist and shortlist, which hasn't been de rigueur for Arabic literary awards.

There has been widespread agreement about the strength of Saadawi's novel, Frankenstein in Baghdad, which tells the story of a booze-smelling rag-and-bone man who haunts the streets of Baghdad in 2005. This professional scavenger is on a "noble" crusade to find fresh human body parts to stitch together into a human corpse. Once completed, the patchwork "what's-its-name" heads out to avenge those whose organs make up its body.

Although apparently well-intentioned, the man who created this creature develops increasingly conflicted feelings about his monster. Indeed, part of what appealed to the judges, they said, was the moral ambiguity surrounding the "what's-its-name".

However, despite the celebrations surrounding Saadawi's win, the prize remains controversial. Some of the judges' decisions in previous years have been unpopular, particularly in 2010, the year Saudi author Abdo Khal won the prize. That year, the judges' names were leaked early, and there was rampant speculation about tampering. In 2013, many big-name writers on the shortlist, such as Elias Khoury and Hoda Barakat, didn't make the longlist, which instead favoured books by younger and lesser-known authors.

Questions about the poor representation of female authors also remain. This year, only two women writers made the 16-strong longlist. The judges said, as they have in the past, that an author's gender doesn't matter. But, as Jordanian writer Siwar Masannat writes, "who is to say that works by women do not exhibit 'artistic elements' that intentionally deviate from the 'male, masculine, heteronormative' criteria[?]"

Nonetheless, Saadawi, the first Iraqi to win the prize, is widely recognised as a strong and thoughtful writer.

Fans of speculative fiction also rejoiced at his win, as realism has dominated much of contemporary Arabic fiction. It's difficult to say how the IPAF has affected Arab authors over its seven years, yet it is very clear that the award is affecting publishers, who are struggling to decide what sort of novel to send.